Middlesex Water Company customers to see 12.7 percent rate increase

Google MapsDue to a 12.7 percent rate increase, the average Middlesex Water Company customer will pay about $6 more each month.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY — Customers of Middlesex Water Company will have to pay nearly $6 more a month after the Board of Public Utilities approved a 12.7 percent rate increase for the utility today.

The company originally asked the BPU in January for a $11.3 million increase, or about 17.47 percent, but the number was lowered after discussions with customers and the Divison of Rate Counsel, which advocates for ratepayers.

Middlesex Water said the additional money would be spent on cleaning and relining water mains to extend their life. Also in the offing is a new computer system.

"We concluded the spending they did on the water mains and things like that was legitimate and should go into rate base," said Stefanie Brand, head of the Division of Rate Counsel.

The average bill for a residential customer who uses about 6,500 gallons a month will increase by $5.76 a month.

Municipal fire departments, for example, rarely see increases of more than 2 percent because their budgets are capped at that level, Brand said.

The company provides water to about 59,700 residential and commercial customers, mostly in eastern Middlesex County, including in Woodbridge, Carteret, South Amboy, Metuchen, and parts of both Edison and South Plainfield.